Couffer wrote:This is only a step towards progress, we should at least see how they respond to initial "negotiations". If the majority are still not satisfied we can always start round two, the only way to definitely lose (in my opinion) is not to engage.

Couffer, thank you for all of the work you have done and it is clear that you care about the game and are trying to help us as players have a better experience.

But I respectfully disagree. As customers, each of us has engaged by posting our concerns on Facebook (at least those of us whose concerns were not deleted). And as customers, I think we should all have the right to be informed and post our concerns at the same time in a public forum. As I said before, we are not employees. Companies must treat their customers with a different level of respect and openness. By supporting this call, I feel that we are legitimizing it and we are definitely not putting pressure on GI to

1. Show us the apple rule2. Provide customer service to ALL customers

This is such a cheap trick on their part and it insults us all. Please do not legitimize it. I certainly will not!

Last edited by IsabellaBeckett on Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:18 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Typos)

Hme wrote:We are engaging already.They're asking us to do it on their terms.They know what they're doing. A divide and conquer.Although, it is legitimate. If I don't like the results, I'll stop playing.

I do want the special 15 to recognize that they are being used as props.

Well I do understand what you are saying, the 15 is a bit silly, you need to be able to see it from a service provider's perspective. Trying to organize and address hundreds of people in a single user call is practically impossible. I've personally have been on GI's end of things before with service updates, you will never be able to please everyone and having hundreds of irate/discontented people talking at you all at once is daunting to say the very least. That's why I attempted to consolidate the majority of complaints (most are class based and can be rolled together), but some are just people asking for the moon. You have to try to be reasonable and hope they are of the same mentality, if they are not then it's time to ratchet up the severity of response/action. You never ever play your trump card first. I obviously am only able to speak for myself and from my own life experience, I am in no way an expert.

Yes, but the point is they can and should garner why they are having customer problems without a call.It is splashed all over this forum and FB. The answers are there if they want them. Why can't they figure it out themselves? That's what should make you suspicious. A survey form for all users? Yes. Reading content here and FB? Yes.A Skype call? What??? It's a ruse.

And yes, people are asking for he moon. But not me. I've repeated a three prong simple demand that I've come to believe is being ignored because I'm not in the in crowd. The crowd that picks the 15. See what I mean? That's what GI has in mind.

Seriously? I've been a long time player and a good friend and as a result of stating an opinion here have gained four negative votes? Same with Isabella? Would someone who down voted me care to explain?

True, but have you attempted to read and or catalog all the specific issues? Organizing anything with multiple points of malcontent through Facebook is laughable, let alone adding the biggest two forums into the mix. Realistically, a poll of the most mentioned problems would be much easier to gauge a majority from. Granted some are just obvious, while others are non bug related suggestions and others are just over the top. My point is you have to have somewhere to start from. They could've easily just shut down the project and start over, realistically that's the easiest path, just roll back updates and let the user base bore themselves until they leave. Then they use their programmers on a new project,this happens all the time with video games. Do you think EA would even attempt to address the user base like GI has? However flawed, the fact remains that they are trying, so I am willing to at least give them a chance. After it is all said and done I very well may have a different opinion and call for the burning of their home office, but for now I still have hope.

I really have to go to bed, things to do, people to see. I wish you all a happy day or night depending on locations.

Hme wrote:Seriously? I've been a long time player and a good friend and as a result of stating an opinion here have gained four negative votes? Same with Isabella? Would someone who down voted me care to explain?

HME, I vote you up as well, because you're not afraid to speak your mind.

About the negatives votes - if you scroll up this page, you can see which posts got the negative votes, they're the ones with the red marks. I believe it was the post where you mentioned an "in crowd"? I don't think there's an elite or exclusive group in here. If some members appear to be more familiar with each other, it's because they join the online chat. You might feel you're missing out, because some recent discussions (particularly the upcoming Skype call) were conducted over chat. Do drop in and join the chat! There is no "in crowd" - everyone is welcome! Pick a color and start typing.

Well, that's very kind of you.I guess i just don't understand a community where you get down voted by people who don't tell you why.The usual posters here seem that they can disagree and not get down voted.That's what makes it seem cliquey to me.

pianofingers wrote:

Hme wrote:Seriously? I've been a long time player and a good friend and as a result of stating an opinion here have gained four negative votes? Same with Isabella? Would someone who down voted me care to explain?

HME, I vote you up as well, because you're not afraid to speak your mind.

About the negatives votes - if you scroll up this page, you can see which posts got the negative votes, they're the ones with the red marks. I believe it was the post where you mentioned an "in crowd". I don't think there's an elite or exclusive group in here. If some members appear to be more familiar with each other, it's because they join the online chat. You might feel you're missing out, because some recent discussions (particularly the upcoming Skype call) were conducted over chat.

I am new to this forum and certainly don't feel I deserve negative votes for expressing my opinion. I didn't even know about this option until Hme pointed it out lol. How do I up vote?

I do not think it is too much to ask of GI to address us all. I, too, have been on the other side of this and would never ask my customers to elect 15 representatives - that is a great way to not have enough customers to find 15 reps.

I do not expect or want them to arrange a call for the masses. I feel that they should update us through their Facebook page, as well as by utilizing the many other options available to companies to provide reasonable customer service (see Hme's post - survey, etc).

Thanks Couffer and pianofingers for supporting our posts. I don't think I said anything offensive and am really disappointed that some of the other members are not open to dissent (hmmmmm they are sounding an awful lot like GI....). It is sad that they would vote our posts down and not have the decency to explain why. Not a great way to make a new member feel valued

IsabellaBeckett wrote:I am new to this forum and certainly don't feel I deserve negative votes for expressing my opinion. I didn't even know about this option until Hme pointed it out lol. How do I up vote?

I do not think it is too much to ask of GI to address us all. I, too, have been on the other side of this and would never ask my customers to elect 15 representatives - that is a great way to not have enough customers to find 15 reps.

I do not expect or want them to arrange a call for the masses. I feel that they should update us through their Facebook page, as well as by utilizing the many other options available to companies to provide reasonable customer service (see Hme's post - survey, etc).

Thanks Couffer and pianofingers for supporting our posts. I don't think I said anything offensive and am really disappointed that some of the other members are not open to dissent (hmmmmm they are sounding an awful lot like GI....). It is sad that they would vote our posts down and not have the decency to explain why. Not a great way to make a new member feel valued

Isabella. One votes by using the + - signs on the right side of the post. I can't speak as to why people are down voting you. We are all welcome to our opinions I think what a lot of people are forgetting that many companies do ask for a small representative group to speak for the masses. They do it in the form of focus groups. I truly respect you and Hme for being brave enough to voice your opinions. I simply ask that you bear in mind that this is the first time that GI has opened a line of communication with the fans of this game. It is a foot in the door at least

Please don't take the negative votes personally. The + or - votes are basically a "Like" or "Dislike" button, not for the person, but for the post. If they agree with a post, they hit the plus, and if they disagree, they hit the minus. Please note that the negative votes are not a reflection on you, but just that people disagreed with your statement.

If you check the previous page, you'll see which posts of yours people disagreed with. I think it was the post about your not supporting the conference call? The conference call is happening, whether we like it or not. GI will be calling up several players, and the only way we can find out what was discussed, is to be part of it. It will be recorded and shared with everyone here so that nobody will feel left out.

Last edited by pianofingers on Tue Aug 14, 2012 1:28 am; edited 1 time in total

First there is no "in crowd". There is a thread for volunteers and we vote. If you want to volunteer, by all means do it. The issues addressed will be limited to realistic expectations. Anyone who thinks we will get multi gifting without removal from inventory back is mistaken. Let it go, it isn't coming back. I would like the 10 collection item limit gift lifted to at least 50 and maybe drop counter with coins instead of diamonds. Getting friend code back it a MUST. Less crashes and fixing all gift box issues. The ninjas have to come back and other creatures need to be more accessible. My Sakura room is getting dusty. I honestly didn't see the point of removing multi banishing, but I guess I am able to live with it *arms crossed* Change stacking charms and artifacts back to using copper ones again. THIS WAS THE ONLY THING I SPENT COINS ON. now the coins are almost useless. Everything needs to be ORGANIZED (friends lists, gift list, request gift list) nothing fancy lvl or alphabetical is fineI also promise to restore 5 star rating if they are willing to make improvement or restore old game. I will continue to boycott until I feel like we have been heard.I also see no point in protesting the call. I am planning on recording and transcribing for everyone. Time is money and I will spend a lot of time doing this for all of you on this forum.

Isabella. One votes by using the + - signs on the right side of the post.

Thanks for answering my question

I don't have + / - signs next to posts. Maybe because I am a new member?

I understand what you are saying, and respect your desire to simply open communication but I think we deserve more. I think it is pretty crazy that with all of the issues this game has had, they have not chosen to be more forthright with their customers prior to now. And as far as focus groups are concerned, generally, they are for product launches, improvements, etc.

When a company has infuriated their base to the level that their base retaliates through a boycott, I feel that they owe it to their customers as a whole to provide a reasonable explanation (why haven't they addressed the questions about the apples rules regarding friend codes and why would they need to do this in any way other than publicly - it is, after all, a pretty simple request).

I really appreciate that you did not do that Mags, and if I could, I would definitely up vote you

I guess I just have different expectations. I am just surprised that this caused people to anonymously attack them.

Isabella. One votes by using the + - signs on the right side of the post.

Thanks for answering my question

I don't have + / - signs next to posts. Maybe because I am a new member?

I understand what you are saying, and respect your desire to simply open communication but I think we deserve more. I think it is pretty crazy that with all of the issues this game has had, they have not chosen to be more forthright with their customers prior to now. And as far as focus groups are concerned, generally, they are for product launches, improvements, etc.

When a company has infuriated their base to the level that their base retaliates through a boycott, I feel that they owe it to their customers as a whole to provide a reasonable explanation (why haven't they addressed the questions about the apples rules regarding friend codes and why would they need to do this in any way other than publicly - it is, after all, a pretty simple request).

I really appreciate that you did not do that Mags, and if I could, I would definitely up vote you

I guess I just have different expectations. I am just surprised that this caused people to anonymously attack them.

*************EDIT************Seems img tags are restricted so here's a direct link:http://bayimg.com/PaBnhAAEB*****************************

That's where to up/down vote posts which your reputation is based on (arrows on right pointing at + and - ).

Isabella. One votes by using the + - signs on the right side of the post.

Thanks for answering my question

I don't have + / - signs next to posts. Maybe because I am a new member?

Hi Isabella, I think your posts on our own computer don't show the + / - because you are not allowed to enter a rep either way on your own posts. Not sure but this is the way I have it figured. I could be wrong!

First of all this is only an opinion. I have gone through and up voted all of you, whether you are for or against the conference. Most people will recognize me from both here and their FB page. I am never afraid to stick my neck out. I continuously post subversive comments in both places and directly to GI themselves. ( cos of this I continuously back up my game to ifunbox). Props to all those putting their hand up for the job and trying to make sense out of the demands and wishes of 1000s of people. Trying to sort out the trivial wants and the important ones. BUT!!!! What gives GI the right to dictate that this is what they will do? What gives them the right to tell 1000s of people that they will only deal with 15 of us. They gave people the opportunity to have a say on their Facebook page and 100s of people chose to go on strike as arranged by two members of this forum. We all continued to post the boycott and the AppStore rating, while at the same time we put forward our grievances. (interspersed with absolute idiots posting their friend codes and whining about the missing diamonds they had just bought!!) We tuned in today to find all that deleted and them telling us how we were going to proceed. Was it too hard to make a list of issues and tell us how they would address them? Instead they deleted them, gave us a snotty nosed demand and continued to delete comments as they were written and even banned people from posting or even liking. I wrote a comment which was deleted and I wrote a second one but then the first one appeared??? I know that the conference is going to happen no matter what, so i can accept that, and in no way do i detract from the people who will be among the 15. Go for it and go hard!!! I absolutely deplore GIs divisive tactics and their inability to deal with criticism. The lies about Apple, but also the shoddy programming in their haste to curb the bet bits of the game. Their unrealistic expectations all the time, everything is geared to forcing us to buy diamonds. 300 oilcans, have to be bought, 500 friends and only 10 gifts, and so on. Good luck to all facing them on Skype. May the force be with you

Could you also point out bringing back the Monster Hunt event was a scam too? Rather than start afresh, they arranged it so people picked up from where they left off last time. As a result, there weren't enough monsters to get anywhere close to completion this time around. And, by removing the 'add friends' option, well, that doesn't need explaining.

It seems that the group was Unified on the same issues now since the Conf call came about things are changing. Is it possible for GI to USTREAM the call then an unlimited amount of people can join, hear, and they can address all the issues at once so it will not be heard by 15 random people? Not saying I am in favor of the call but we all "know" each other from the game and some in life but the way GI handles customer service you never know if a version of conversion or sweet talk to the 15 would happen. Just my two cents.

Sharbee wrote:gailg mirrors my thoughts exactly.

Could you also point out bringing back the Monster Hunt event was a scam too? Rather than start afresh, they arranged it so people picked up from where they left off last time. As a result, there weren't enough monsters to get anywhere close to completion this time around. And, by removing the 'add friends' option, well, that doesn't need explaining.

Quests shouldn't take months to complete. For example the Neptune and Emerald quests which can take months and months and their explanation of 'it's all a matter of luck' doesn't make me feel any better about waiting.

Quests shouldn't take months to complete. For example the Neptune and Emerald quests which can take months and months and their explanation of 'it's all a matter of luck' doesn't make me feel any better about waiting.

As of the latest update you can now gift your Neptune and Emerald to those who are doing the quests.

I would like an option added that players have the option to stop/delete any charm they have running if they no longer wish to run it.....so they don't get stuck with the dud 'Vanquisher of monsters ' charm as I have for 7 days!

Last edited by Papillion on Tue Aug 14, 2012 6:24 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Added text)

I'm sure between the 15 attendees all of the major points will be hit. We all play the same game and see all of the faults and how it hurts game play. Most of us experienced the fun of the "loopholes" they've now plugged. If I see the conference about to end and one of the deal-breaker issues hasn't been discussed yet, I'll make sure to get it in.

If I get the chance I would love to be able to explain my user experience. They need to understand that at level 30 I (and many like me) fully intended to delete the app entirely due to its extreme restrictions and only kept playing because I found friends who helped me get around them. They need to understand that the longer you play, the less you're inclined to pay to advance anymore, so their money makers are the new players while the experience makers are the loyal, higher level players who help them.

Outside of the obvious issues we've all talked about, I actually think the game is fine the way it is WITH several adjustments to the rewards we receive. As all have said the price of diamonds must come down and items need to drop sooner/more often or they need to lessen the amount of them needed for certain tasks. Players should be rewarded for reaching milestone levels better than just being able to gift higher level chargers... when I first started playing I thought multigifting was a perk for being a higher level, and I thought how great, I can't wait! Perhaps the best strategy here is to propose the increase to the amount of daily gifting you can do and how many times a day you can gift the same person based on your level (although yes, it will still come out of your inventory). That way us loyal higher level players would still have something to work toward after we're out of quests and could get back some of the joy of helping our lower level players and loyal friends. If we are given this ability to help them more, they will be less likely to quit at such a low level and will become addicted to the social aspect of the game just like we did when "illegal" multigifting was around. We're happy to be less restricted and give them back their higher rating, they get more n00bs due to their high rating, and we'll be keeping their n00bs happy and purchasing. It's a win-win and that is exactly what is needed here to get GI to budge. If they rewarded our loyalty instead of greedily punishing us, hell, even I might be inclined to buy diamonds from time to time again.

We do need to keep the call as upbeat as possible. They are offering us a gripe-session, but no one wants to hear all gripes all the time. Maybe they deserve it for how they've treated us, but you get more bees with honey!!

Misato wrote:As of the latest update you can now gift your Neptune and Emerald to those who are doing the quests.

You're kidding!!! So how do you add the Emerald to your wish list? I'm not seeing it!

You can't add them to your wishlist! You can it seems request them from friends who have already passed these quests, like myself, as they are not taken away on completion. They are now visible in my gift able collection items. Ask a friend on your list if you can borrow them and then return them when you have completed the quests.

I also echo The opinion above, this conference call cannot just be a gripe fest as some would like. There are a plentiful amount of new problems with each update which are completely frustrating,and have me gritting my teeth a lot of the time. Some of the events seem rediculously hard to complete, especially if you are a lower level player. Without the multi gifting help of higher level players, when I was a much lower level, I would never have even come close to completing the fool moon event for example.

BUT if the entire game was made as easy as a lot of people seem to want on FBMM, easier quests, easier events, no limit on gifts......where would the challenge be. I would have stopped playing after a few weeks if there hadn't been some sort of challenge to this game .

I did consider buying diamonds in the early weeks of playing this game, but it was so unstable with complaints of missing items & diamonds disappearing after updates that I never purchased any. I have played the entire game without purchases only because of its instability & the fact that you trust that your items will be intact from one update to the next.

So surely it must be brought to GI attention that the most important thing is to make the game more stable & reliable, this would increase confidence & players would then buy if the wished(at a reasonable cost).

I would add that GI really needs to communicate on their MMFB page much better than they have been & post notices of changes before they happen and give some sort of time frame. This makes people feel at least like there is some sort of consideration and we are not just left floundering!

I am not hoping for miracles with this conference call. My hope is that the 15 will at least come away with some information for us!

I have seen posted that it should be an open call where everyone can join in, NO WAY! , can U imagine that free for all, I would prefer that not only the people who shout the loudest & longest be heard, but the level headed who can put our views calmly & sensibly.

I may have missed it, but I didn't notice a place to bring up the issue of having to wait so long for energy to be built up to be able to play again without buying energy items or having to use items to increase energy. I just like to get on and play as long as I like until I get {myself} get tired. It's frustrating to be in the middle of what seems to be an enjoyable game and suddenly be told you don't have any more energy left!! I really hope this issue gets discussed. Thanks